Paper towels are essential to every household. Living in a world of ever-growing technology, it can be easy to forget the ways old products still offer us real utility. Paper towels were an invention that changed our lives, and they maintain their usefulness even today. However, whether you are looking for a multipurpose one that can do anything the job requires, or something better suited to specific situations, there are numerous brands on the market to choose from, making it difficult for buyers to decide which paper towels are truly the best.
First of all, you want to find one that is both cost-effective and highly absorbent so that no matter what kind of messy situation you find yourself in, this paper towel needs to collect spilled liquid easily, without feeling flimsy or giving way when holding a mess. It should be tough enough for everyday jobs yet gentle on your hands with outstanding softness to help care for even sensitive skin.
We have combed through hundreds of user, and expert reviews, considered dozens of our own tests, consulted with several industry experts, and read through tons of research to bring you this list. Here in this brief piece, we have put together a collection of some of the most impressive paper towel options on the market, including a couple of reusable and eco-friendly choices for those who are looking for opportunities to make their home more environmentally responsible.
Best Paper Towels
- Bounty Quick-Size Paper Towels
- Our Eco-friendly pick: Earthly Co. Reusable Paper Towels
- VIVA Signature Cloth Choose-A-Sheet Kitchen Paper Towels
- Brawny Tear-A-Square Paper Towels
- Scott Paper Towels
- Amazon Brand – Presto! Flex-a-Size Paper Towels
- Sparkle Paper Towels
Best overall: Bounty Quick-Size Paper Towels
Bounty Quick-Size Paper Towels are here to help save you time and work. They are tangle-free, quick-size paper towels that are ideal for a variety of tasks. Each Bounty sheet is 18% bigger than the leading brands in the market, and each roll contains a double amount of sheets per roll; therefore, you don’t have to use more sheets to clean up larger messes.
These paper towels are strong and twice more absorbent compared to other products in the same price range, so they will trap household messes with ease and keep them in place, giving you a better clean every time to make your life a little easier. The rolls fit standard household paper towel dispensers – no custom mounting needed.
Pros
- Cost-effective: A single pack is enough for a few months of usage in a standard-sized household
- Excellent sturdiness and thickness makes it even suitable for dish wiping purpose
- Large size
Cons
- It doesn’t fit in a standard paper towel dispenser due to its larger size
Our Eco-friendly pick: Earthly Co. Reusable Paper Towels
Earthly Co. Reusable Paper Towels can be used for a variety of different applications and are stronger than traditional paper towels. These towels help to protect the environment by eliminating wasteful paper towel use, which is one of the primary causes of deforestation. In addition, they are safe on all surfaces for all cleaning up purposes.
Earthly Co.’s paper towels are made of 100% cotton fabric and designed to prevent harmful microplastic elements from sneaking into the environment. They are tough, absorbent, washable, and reusable repeatedly – so you don’t have to use disposable paper towels anymore.
Pros
- Made using environmentally sustainable and recycled materials
- Withstand repeated usage
- Perfect for garages, workshops, and other similar settings that require heavy-duty cleaning job
- Ultra-absorption ability
- Relatively affordable
Cons
- It could have been a little more durable
VIVA Signature Cloth Choose-A-Sheet Kitchen Paper Towels
The Viva Signature Cloth is a different kind of paper towel. It may not have any patterns on it, but don’t let that fool you – there’s still plenty of cleaning power. Soft and gentle, this paper towel wipes like a cloth, delivering a superior cleaning experience that you can rely on. Its pack of six rolls is perfect for busy households and multipurpose use. Viva uses less material than the average paper towel, which means it is better for the environment and fits into places where ordinary paper towels would not.
Now you can get rid of your run-of-the-mill paper towels and use VIVA Signature Cloth Choose-A-Sheet Kitchen Paper Towels instead! It feels like a delicate piece of toilet paper during usage, and when wet, it only gets even softer and more absorbent. This is useful because you can wipe up the mess with one towel and throw the soiled piece away rather than making another mess by tearing it up.
Pros
- Made with recycled fibers, eco-friendly sustainable paper towel rolls
- Its super-soft, smooth texture makes the paper towel ideal for wiping windows and mirror glass
- Works equally excellent on both wet and dry messes
- Manufactured using eco-friendly reusable materials
Cons
- The single-ply sheet doesn’t offer the same performance as a multiply towel
Brawny Tear-A-Square Paper Towels
Brawny Tear-A-Square Extra Large Paper Towels are 50 percent stronger in dispensing than the leading brand and are used to tackle household messes, however big or small. Avoid the extra work of cutting or tearing with this towel’s unique design that can be easily torn into smaller squares or sheets, making it perfect for applying makeup, wiping down kitchen counters, or using sticky fingers with snacks.
Because It is 2-ply, the sheet is strong enough for tough messes but soft to touch on your hands while offering superior absorption power at the same time. Also, with three different sheet sizes inside one pack, one can now choose the right Brawny size depending on their requirements. And when you are done, simply throw it away conveniently – no more rags taking up space in your trash can.
Pros
- Great for smaller areas, and thus helps to reduce wastage, lasts longer, and saves money
- A whopping 128 sheets in each roll and 16 rolls per pack
- Every sheet can be torn into three sizes based on your usage requirements
Cons
- Specifically made for small area usage and hence not a good option for larger messes or to cover a wider area
Scott Paper Towels
Scott Mega Roll paper towels are an easy-to-use option for your large cleaning jobs. They hold up to messes of all sizes, with a long-lasting strength that provides you with superior cleaning. Six mega rolls come inside each pack that offers a similar capacity of eleven ordinary rolls, where each roll contains 102 individual sheets.
These paper towels are 11 inches by 5.9 inches in size and are designed to fit any dispenser. They are made from soft and strong wood pulp fibers that work to capture large messes while acting gently on your hands. Scott Paper Towels meet the highest industry standards for quality.
Pros
- Eco-friendly ingredients sourced from responsibly managed forests
- Each roll contains 102 sheets, which is economical for bigger households with more cleaning needs
- Uniquely textured ridges offer greater absorption ability
Cons
- We would like it to be a bit thicker
Amazon Brand – Presto! Flex-a-Size Paper Towels
Presto! Flex-a-Size Paper Towels come in huge rolls that last up to 2.5 times longer than any ordinary brand, so you can finish the job without having to unpack a new one and save some money, too. With 75% better absorbency of your basic 1-ply paper towels and a smooth pattern, these durable sheets tackle tough messes with ease. You can even keep using them for up to 6 months and send them back for a full refund if you are not satisfied.
These are certified by PEFC to be sourced from controlled and sustainably managed forest sources, giving you peace of mind that you are helping the environment as well. So if you are looking for a great paper towel that helps you get all the messes done, look no further. Make the switch today – your home will thank you.
Pros
- Every pack comes with 434 sqft of paper towels, making the brand exceptionally value-for-money
- Sheets are smaller, which means less waste
- Uses sustainably sourced materials
Cons
- Inaccurate perforation can result in uneven tears
Sparkle Paper Towels
Available in 18-roll, 6-roll, or 2-roll packs, Sparkle paper towels offer a wide variety of solutions to ensure proper cleaning every time. Its 2-ply sheets are designed for strength and wiping power, with soft pickers to take on any mess you throw at it. Each sheet is ultra-absorbent and is perfect for picking up spills, drips, splatters, and all sorts of messy situations.
Sparkle Paper Towels are super soft and dry hands in just half a minute. Plus, they come on an extra-wide roll that makes them great to handle all your cleaning needs around the house. Highly absorbent, stronger than ordinary sheet paper towels, and with extraordinary cleaning capabilities, Sparkle Paper Towels strive to be your ideal cleaning partner.
Pros
- Elegant white paper towels fit in any settings
- Eight double-sized mega rolls
- Perfect perforation makes the roll convenient to use
Cons
- Stronger than usual towel is harder to tear using one hand
Best Paper Towels Buying Guide: Factors you need to consider when buying paper towels
Paper towels are great for cleaning up messes; however, not all of them are created equal. The best paper towels are designed with your needs in mind. You don’t want to buy a product that fails to live up to your standards or something that will cause you extra work.
The following buyer’s guide details a few things you should look out for when purchasing the best paper towel for your home cleaning needs.
Types of paper towels:
- Standard: For simple messes, a roll of standard paper towels has you covered. The sheets come in perforated rolls so that you can tear one off whenever it’s needed. After wiping up the spills, simply throw the soiled sheets in your recycling bin or trash. These paper towels are economical, easy to use, and available in various sizes to meet your housekeeping needs.
- Multifold: Multifold paper towels come as different-sized and already separately pieced sheets instead of continuous perforated rolls, making them perfect for dispensers in settings like school bathrooms or a restaurant kitchen. Plus, their rugged, rougher texture is great for handling heavy-duty messes – even wet ones.
- Eco-friendly: These paper towels are typically made from sustainably sourced organic materials such as bamboo, soybean, and cottonseed or using recycled ingredients. This is great for the environment because it helps to protect trees and other natural resources and, in turn, reduces the overall carbon footprint. By purchasing an eco-friendly roll of paper towels, you can do your part in helping the environment and feel good about the number of trees you are saving by using them.
- Cloth: Cloth paper towels are a great way to reduce the number of paper towels that we use. They are composed of mini cloth towels snapped together to form a roll. Snap off as many as you need, use them to clean up the mess, and then simply have them washed and dried in a washing machine until they can be used again.
Quantity and size of paper towels
- Size of each sheet: A versatile, everyday single roll of paper towels lets you grab a sheet when you need it with its tear-free perforations. They typically come with differently sized sheets for small to medium messes.
- How many sheets per roll: Try mega roll paper towels instead of regular ones and never run out again and save more on your paper towel costs. A mega roll has 25% more sheets than a standard roll.
- Size of the roll: Most rolls are not the same size or weight. The amount of square feet per roll that is printed on the package is a common, if not regulated, way to measure roll sizes. Look for the brands that offer the biggest and best value in rolls, so you not only get more sheets but also more square feet per roll, allowing you to save substantially.
- The number of rolls per package: Paper towels come in many different sizes and quantities. The number of rolls your paper towel package contains will be listed in the specifications section of the box. Based on your needs, you can determine how large of a package you need to buy.
Durability:
Durability is something that you must consider when buying paper towels for your household. Ordinary paper towels fail to give you strength, so make sure you purchase the ones that are designed to be strong and reliable and crafted with premium materials for them to hold up and not break down easily when water or dirt is coming into contact.
Absorption power:
Have you ever had paper towels crumble in your hands? It’s frustrating, right? Therefore, before deciding on the brand, ensure that the paper towel you are going to buy features high absorption power and can soak up all kinds of messes.
Price:
When it comes to buying paper towels, you might have a question in mind- what makes one roll better than the other? Well, it can be answered in three ways: price, quality, and performance. Being sold at an affordable price with decent quality materials is something we can vouch for! However, for the best quality, go for those that do not consist of huge amounts of filler material and are bleached with chlorine-free whiteners. Although these are more expensive than other brands, remember that they will save on money over time by lasting longer.
Also, if you are planning on using a lot of paper towels in your home every day or want to keep them stocked up just in case you need to clean something up quickly, go for the bigger rolls and cut down on cost.
Final words:
These paper towels deliver what they advertised: they are strong and durable, yet ultra-soft, super-absorbent, gentle on your hand, and offer a great value for families dealing with large or tough spills. Our researchers faced no issue when they used these towels to mop up spills of water, fruit juice, and even ketchup in our testing facility.
That being said, when choosing a paper towel, price is an important factor to consider. Buying a higher-quality brand of paper towels will give you the strength and durability needed for more challenging clean-ups. On the other hand, if you are looking for a paper towel for less demanding tasks, a budget brand will get the job done.
